Global poverty 'central moral challenge' says Scottish church leader

Global poverty 'central moral challenge' says Scottish church leader

Eradicating poverty around the world is the "central moral challenge of our generation" a church leader has told Gordon Brown.

The message came at the weekend as groups, churches and committees all over the world observed the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (World Poverty Day).

This year, the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it focused on the hardships faced by children and their families.

In a letter to the British Prime Minister, the Rev Ian Galloway, Convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, urged Gordon Brown to tackle childhood poverty in the UK and beyond, despite the global recession.

Mr Galloway said: “To make poverty history is the central moral challenge of our generation. It is linked to climate change. It is linked to the credit crunch. It is linked to who we are as human beings. Are we willing to make sacrifices for people who we will never know?”

“The eradication of poverty cannot remain a job for the powerful, but must become a calling for us all” he continued. “I encourage everyone to join the struggle. Together, we can make a real difference in the lives of those affected by poverty, and make progress towards making poverty history.”

“At this time of global recession, it is even more important that we do not forget the poorest in our world” he said.